MBRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, October 20, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
In the past 24 hours, opportunities have come knocking for Martin Damm of the United States. The 6-foot-8-inch, big-serving American lefty has gone from being a lucky loser to advancing to the second round during his brief stay in Brussels. He’s proof that things can change quickly – and, sometimes, for the better.
After being the top seed during qualifying draw play over the weekend, where he won his opening match on Saturday, then lost on Sunday, the 23-year-old Damm was elevated into the main draw following the withdrawals of Denmark’s Holger Rune (back spasms) and Kamil Majchrzak (knee injury) of Poland due to injuries.
On Monday afternoon, the 107th-ranked lucky loser became a worthy winner after aggressively defeating 59th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann of Germany, 7-5, 6-3, in 71 minutes on Centre Court to move into the second round against World No. 21 and third seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
Onward and upwards 🆙
Lucky loser Martin Damm makes the most of his second chance in Brussels by defeating Hanfmann 7-5, 6-3.
@BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/UecdSS0sGN
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 19, 2026
Damm parlayed 11 aces and 26 winners overall into his 11th victory of the season in his 25th tour-level match. He won 88 percent (29 of 33) first-serve points, faced no break points on his serve, converted two of five break-point chances and outpointed the 34-year-old German 62-47.
Hanfmann, who fell to 24-20, never really got on track during the first-round encounter and came up short in his bid to become the second German player after World No. 2 Alexander Zverev to reach 25 victories this season.
“Yesterday was a tough match for me, for sure,” Damm said during his on-court interview. “I knew I had a little chance to get in as a lucky loser. So, I’m happy I got the chance. Today, I think I played a very good match, better than yesterday. Sometimes, you just need a second chance.”
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With three matches under his belt in three days, Damm will have a chance to stand down on Tuesday. He feels the experience has helped his game and allowed him to get adjusted to the indoor hard courts at Brussels Expo.
“Whenever you get a chance to play some matches, it helps. I’ve played three now, I’ve lost one. But I think those two matches, for sure, played a big factor in the match today,” said Damm, who will take an 11-14 win-loss record into his match with Cerundolo.
Munar finds comfort playing indoors in Belgium
Spain’s Jaume Munar has enjoyed success in opening rounds of hard-court events this season – and he’s reached at least the quarterfinals in three of his last four ATP Tour events played indoors, last year in Dallas and Basel and earlier this year at Rotterdam.
On Monday afternoon, the 51st-ranked Munar improved to 7-1 in opening rounds on hard courts in 2026 with his 6-4, 6-3 victory over 135th-ranked Italian qualifier Federico Cina in one hour and 23 minutes on Centre Court. The loss prevented Cina, who is playing at a career-high ranking, from achieving the biggest win of his nascent career.
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The 29-year-old Munar broke Cina’s serve three times in seven opportunities – once in the opening set that was the difference and twice in the second set that gave him a double-break lead. His eighth ace set up match point and he put away his 16th win of the season with an overhead smash winner that capped an 11-shot rally. It was Munar’s 25th winner of the match against just 10 unforced errors, compared to 16 winners and 22 unforced errors by Cina, whose win-loss record at tour-level dropped to 2-10 this season.
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“I tried to be more aggressive with the second-serve return in the last game of the first set and it worked very well at the start of the second set. I’m happy with the changes I made – very happy to be through and to have another win,” Munar said during his on-court interview after outpointing Cina 63-45.
“There’s a lot to work on. I’m very happy and pleased with the way I served. I’m happy to be back playing indoors; I love it here. I always had a wonderful time in Antwerp [the tournament’s former home].”
Next, Munar will face World No. 10 and top seed Arthur Fils of France for a berth in the quarterfinals.
Michelsen needs just 60 minutes to win Brussels debut
No. 5 seed Alex Michelsen barely had enough time to work up a sweat on Centre Court Monday afternoon. That’s because the 37th-ranked American needed just 60 minutes to defeat Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the second round.
Michelsen hit eight winners and converted four of six break points against the 166th-ranked Guerrieri, who was making his ATP Tour debut. He took advantage of 28 unforced errors by the 27-year-old lefty from Correggio, Italy. Michelsen outpointed Guerrieri 55-34 in his Brussels debut and collected his 28th tour-level win of the season.
Debut Dub ✅
No.5 seed Alex Michelsen wins his first match in Brussels, defeating qualifier Andrea Guerrieri 6-1 6-2 💼
#BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/jalJdtrqrV
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 19, 2026
“I lost early in Shanghai, so I got here about a week ago and have been putting the work in on the court since Tuesday or Wednesday last week,” the 22-year-old Michelsen said during his on-court interview. “It’s a little bit of a different surface here with the wood, compared to a proper hard court, but I’m getting used to it and feeling good.”
Michelsen, who is coming off a Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance at the US Open, will face either 657th-ranked wild card David Goffin of Belgium or lucky loser Remy Bertola of Switzerland, ranked 219th, in his second-round match.
Around the Brussels Expo
The 16-team doubles draw got underway Monday with five matches spread across both Centre Court and Court 1.
• Belgian wild cards Rafael Collignon and David Goffin upset No. 3 seeds Marc Polmans of Australia and Jan Zielinski of Poland, 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 16 minutes on Centre Court to move into the quarterfinals. Collignon and Goffin combined on four aces and won 71 won percent (41 of 58) of their total service points. They converted four of 10 break points and outpointed Polmans and Zielinski, who reached the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals last week, 71-53.
Raphael Collignon and David Goffin (photo: Belga – BNP Paribas Fortis European Open)
Next, Collignon and Goffin will play against Constantin Frantzen of Germany and Robert Galloway of the United States, who advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Petr Nouza of Czechia and Michael Venus of New Zealand in 57 minutes on Court 1. The German/American duo combined to hit seven aces and saved the only break point they faced. They broke Nouza and Venus three times in five tries and outpointed them 56-42.
• Playing together for the sixth time this season, Dutch duo Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp moved into the quarterfinal round after defeating Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina and Benjamin Kittay of the United States, 7-6 (0), 6-3, in one hour and 18 minutes on Court 1. Griekspoor and van de Zandschulp combined on eight aces and outpointed their opponents 69-57 en route to their seventh victory in 12 matches this season.
Next, Griekspoor and van de Zandschulp will face No. 4 seeds Sadio Doumbia of France and Bart Stevens of the Netherlands, who advanced over Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni of Argentina, 6-4, 7-5, in one hour and 31 minutes on Court 1. The French/Dutch pair combined to win 81 percent (38 of 47) of their first-serve points, converted three of six break points and outpointed the Argentine duo 66-56.
• Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina and Alex Michelsen of the United States went the distance to beat alternates David Poljak and Michael Vrbensky of Czechia, 3-6, 6-3, 10-2, on Centre Court to advance to the quarterfinal round. The Argentine/American team outpointed the Czech pair 60-50.
Next, Cerundolo and Michelsen will face either No. 2 seeds Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos of Brazil or Sander Arends of the Netherlands and Luke Johnson of Great Britain, who play Tuesday.
Monday’s European Open results
🎾 Results | Monday, October 19
#BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/mXn5y0eHBf
— BNP Paribas Fortis European Open (@BNPPFEUOpen) October 19, 2026
Tuesday’s European Open order of play
🎾 Order of Play | Monday, Tuesday 20
#BNPPFEuropeanOpen https://t.co/sE6Xzv6yvS
— BNP Paribas Fortis European Open (@BNPPFEUOpen) October 19, 2026
By the numbers
The oldest player among the 28-player singles draw is 36-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany. The youngest players are a pair of 19-year-olds: Max Schoenhaus of Germany and Federico Cina of Italy.
“Quotable …”
“I thought I played very well today, not only my serve but from the back, I was feeling good physically. I thought I put pressure on him on the return game. Overall, I’m very happy.”
– Lucky loser Martin Damm of the United States, during his on-court interview Monday, after winning his first-round match.
